5 Things to Know About the Landmark Case over Obamacare

If the spotlight isn’t on Obamacare right now, it most certainly will be during the month of June. Whether you’ve been paying attention to the latest anything on the Affordable Care Act (no judgement, that’s why we’re here!) there’s been some big news concerning a Supreme Court Ruling that could halt health insurance expansion in […]

If the spotlight isn’t on Obamacare right now, it most certainly will be during the month of June.

Whether you’ve been paying attention to the latest anything on the Affordable Care Act (no judgement, that’s why we’re here!) there’s been some big news concerning a Supreme Court Ruling that could halt health insurance expansion in the United States.

Below are the fast facts on the King v. Burwell case that will help you understand, on at least a high level, what’s going on.

Of course, the big question on everyone’s mind is “how will this affect what I offer employees?”

While we wish the answer was simple, there’s still a lot of grey area. But the big takeaway for restaurants or any industry that employs hourly workers, is that regardless of the way the Supreme Court rules, the Employer Mandate will still stand.

Because the mechanics of the ACA will hold true, restaurants will still need to offer health benefit coverage options to their full-time or full-time equivalent employees.

Here are the fast facts on the landmark case:

What is King v. Burwell?

King v. Burwell is a challenge to a key component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), a landmark law dedicated to achieving widespread, affordable health care.

Why was the case filed?

There’s a single line of text about who gets federal subsidies to help pay for health insurance that the two sides are interpreting differently.

What are the two sides of the argument?

The plaintiffs in King filed a lawsuit challenging the IRS rule on the ground that the ACA authorizes tax credits only for individuals who purchase insurance on state-established Exchanges.

The ACA opponents argue, among other things, that the purpose of the tax credit provision is to induce States to set up their own Exchanges. If States choose to allow the federal government to operate the Exchange in their stead, they face penalty of withdrawal of those credits and subsidies.

Who could be affected by the ruling?

Currently, there are 7 million people across more than 30 states who would have their Federally funded tax subsidy revoked – making it difficult to afford health insurance and potentially causing an increase in health care costs for everyone.

What should restaurants do to make sure they comply with the ACA?

The best thing for restaurants to do in response to this landmark case is to be prepared to manage their ACA strategy no matter what happens.

Regardless of the ruling, the intent of the law as it applies to an employer’s obligation to provide health care coverage benefit options to their full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees will not change and restaurant owners needs to be ready to comply with the law.